Internet ban in Gujarat hits startups, e-commerce ventures

The suspension of internet and mobile phone text message services in Gujarat has begun affecting startups and ecommerce ventures.AHMEDABAD: The suspension of internet and mobile phone text message services in Gujarat in view of the reservation stir in the state has begun affecting startups and ecommerce ventures.

Stoppage of these services not only affects flow of online orders and the operational efficiency of ecommerce ventures, but also creates payment issues as a sizeable number of online shoppers prefer using the one-time password SMS validation system for payments.

Ahmedabad-based social startup Abhumka Herbal, which sells tribal healthcare products on Amazon.in, Snapdeal and eBay, is worried about getting a negative rating and the penalty it will have to pay if it fails to execute an order. "All this to face with no fault of ours," said Manish Singh, its director for business development and strategic alliance. With no SMS and internet service, information regarding orders placed by customers on these ecommerce platforms does not reach Singh.

According to Singh, ecommerce players have no system in place that can accommodate vendors' inability to act due to such government-initiated moves.

Singh faced a similar situation in the last week of August when SMS and internet services were banned for a week after riots broke out over the brief arrest of Hardik Patel, a leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, who is demanding reservation for the Patel community. Patel's arrest again on Saturday sparked a statewide protest by the community which prompted the government to impose a ban on internet and SMS services from 2.30 pm. Another Ahmedabad-based startup, Saama Capital and Mayfield-funded Lendingkart.com, has put in place a contingency plan. "We have identified two of our finance staff from Ahmedabad centre who can be moved to Bengaluru's technology operation centre on a short notice during the ban to ensure smooth flow of its finance operations," said CEO Harshvardhan Lunia.